Cahal Dallat, poet, musician and critic, was born in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim in 1953. He studied at Queen’s University Belfast and now lives in London where he reviews for several publications including the Times Literary Supplement and has been a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Review since its inception in 1998. He won the Strokestown International Poetry Competition in 2006 and his latest collection is The Year of Not Dancing (Blackstaff Press, 2009).

Moya Roddy, better know perhaps for her fiction and scriptwriting, will read from her poetry on the night.

Kate Dempsey is originally from Coventry and now lives with her family in Maynooth, Co.Kildare where she teaches creative writing to children and adults. Her poetry and fiction have been widely published in Ireland and the UK including in THE SHOp, Poetry Ireland Review, Stony Thursday, Abridged, Orbis, Newleaf and Revival among others. She was selected to read for Poetry Ireland Introductions and Windows Publications Introductions. She has been nominated for, and won many prizes including The Francis MacManus, Cecil Day Lewis and Hennessy awards for Poetry and for Fiction. Kate loves to blur the wobbly boundaries between page and stage, particularly with the Poetry Diva Collective who read at festivals and events countrywide.

There is no entrance fee. All welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing generous financial support of the Arts Council and Galway City Council.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

North Beach Poetry Nights welcomes from London Anne-Marie Fyfe as Guest Poet next Monday 15th March February at 9pm in The Crane Bar, Sea Road, Galway

Born in Cushendall in the Glens of Antrim, Anne-Marie Fyfe now lives in London where she has organised and hosted the Coffee-House Poetry reading series in London’s famous Troubadour cellar-club for the past 12 years as well as running the annual John Hewitt Spring Festival at Carnlough on the Antrim Coast and organising the poetry and international strands of the John Hewitt Summer School in Armagh. She was Chair of the UK Poetry Society from 2006-2009, has been Writer in Residence for The Poetry Trust at Aldeburgh and her poem "Curaçao Dusk" won 1st prize in Academi Cardiff International Poetry Competition. 'The Ghost Twin', Peterloo Poets, 2005, was her third collection and 'Understudies: New and Selected Poems' is due from Seren Books in September 2010.

Poets wishing to take part in this first 2010 slam should bring 2 max. 3 minute poems.

The winner goes through to the North Beach Grand Slam in December. The prize for the Grand Slam winner is publication.

Door: 5 / 3 Euro.
Info: John Walsh @ 091-593290

North Beach Poetry Nights gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Galway City Council.

Friday, February 12, 2010

The March Over The Edge: Open Reading takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, March 25th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Jean Kavanagh, Paul Casey & Jessie Lendennie

Jessie Lendennie's prose poem Daughter was first published in 1988, followed in 1990 by The Salmon Guide to Poetry Publishing and in 1992 by The Salmon Guide to Creative Writing in Ireland. Her poetry has been anthologised in Irish Poetry Now: Other Voices, Unveiling Treasures: The Attic Guide To The Published Works of Irish Women Literary Writers and The White Page/An Bhileog Bhan: Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets, among others. She has conducted workshops and given readings all over Ireland and the United States for many years. She is the co-founder and Managing Director of Salmon Poetry. In 2008, she edited Salmon: A Journey in Poetry, 1981-2007, an anthology of Salmon Poetry. In 2009 she compiled and edited Poetry: Reading it, Writing it, Publishing it.

Paul Casey was born in Cork in 1968. He has lived in a number of countries in Europe and Africa working mostly in film, multimedia and teaching. Paul taught scriptwriting at the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. He now organises the weekly Ó Bhéal poetry event in Cork city. His poetry and reviews have appeared in a number of Irish journals including THE SHOp, Revival, Cork Literary Review, Southword and Census. A chapbook of Paul’s longer poems, It’s Not All Bad, was published by Heaventree Press in May 2009 and he is working towards his first full collection.

Jean Kavanagh is originally from Dublin, and is now living in Lahinch, Co.Clare. She co-founded The Cascades writing group in Ennistymon in 2001, and is now partaking in Kevin Higgins’s Advanced Poetry Workshop in The Galway Arts Centre. Last year her work was published in its showcase anthology, Lady Gregory's Townhouse. She has read her poetry at Clifden Arts Week and at last year’s National Poetry Day event for County Clare.

There will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing generous financial support of Galway City Council and The Arts Council

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Cúirt International Festival of Literature are delighted to announce the details of the 2010 Cúirt New Writing Prize which offers emerging writers a chance to receive recognition at an internationally recognised literary event. The winner will be presented with a €1000 cash prize at the opening of Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway on Tuesday 20th April 2010.
Submission Guidelines are as follows:

Only entries from writers who have not had a collection of their work published or who do not currently have a collection under consideration for publication will be considered.

Entries must be sent in hard copy only to:Cúirt New Writing PrizeGalway Arts Centre47 Dominick StreetGalway

In addition to your work you are asked to include the following contact details on a separate sheet: Name, email address, phone number.

You may include a stamped addressed envelope if you want your work returned to you (work will not be returned unless postage is paid).

You may include a short biography if you so wish, if you do so please do not staple or attach it to your work, place it at the back of the envelope, separate to your poems/fiction.

The Cúirt Festival of International Literature would like to thank Jimmy Maguire for his generous sponsorship of the Cúirt New Writing Prize. This prize is in memory of Lena Maguire and few who have spent any time in Galway can have remained untouched by Lena’s warmth, charm and her lifelong support of the arts.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Trocaire, Poetry Ireland and Galway City Council Arts Office are teaming up on Monday 8th March to present a unique poetry event. Face Up to Hunger is a free poetry reading featuring four of Ireland's top poets, reading their work in support of Trocaire's Lenten campaign of human rights awareness. Kathleen O'Driscoll, Sandra Bunting, Moya Cannon and Tom Mathews will be reading their favourite poems and Trocaire spokesperson Theresa Auma Odur from Uganda will lead a discussion on Trocaire's work.

Kathleen O'Driscoll is from Galway. A renowned social activist, acclaimed writer and filmmaker her collection, Love Song came out in Galway last year from Marram Press.

Beguiling Canadian poet, printmaker and batik artist Sandra Bunting has lived in Galway for more than twenty years. She works at the Academic Writing Centre, NUI Galway and leads two creative writing seminars in poetry for undergraduates. Her well praised collection Identified in Trees was published in 2006.

Moya Canon is from Dunfanaghy and lives in Galway. Her first collection Oar won the Brendan Behan Memorial Prize and her most recent collection is Carrying the Songs. She has been editor of the Poetry Ireland Review and is a member of Aosdána.

Cartoonist and Dublin legend Tom Mathews brought out his first poetry collection The Owl and the Pussycat in 2009, which was recently shortlisted for the prestigious Rupert and Eithne Strong Poetry Award.

With the kind support of Druid Theatre Company this enthralling night of great writing will take place in Druid's own beautiful theatre space in Druid Lane, Recently been rebuilt to the highest standard Druid Lane Theatre is a great addition to Galway's arts buildings. The reading starts at 8.00pm, admission is free and all are welcome.

The February Over The Edge: Open Reading takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, February 25th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Peter Godaniburg, Elizabeth Reapy & Ken Bruen.

Peter Godaniburg, born, raised, and bored in Germany, came to Ireland in 2002 and now lives near Westport. He has an MA in Musicology with German Language and Literature as a subsidiary subject. In 2007 he took a Creative Writing Class with John Corless followed by poetry workshops with Kelly Lombardi and Susan Millar DuMars. Most of his stories are not set in a particular location or time and often drift into the weird or surreal.

Elizabeth Reapy is a twenty five-year-old writer from Claremorris. She has recently completed an M.A. in Creative Writing from Queen’s University, Belfast. A member of Mayo Writers’ Block, her work has been featured in La Bouche, Flash International and local publications. She is currenly redrafting her first novel. In 2009, she was shortlisted for Over the Edge New Writer of the Year Award and she is the founder and editor of wordlegs online magazine http://www.wordlegs.com/ .

Ken Bruen was born in Galway in 1951. He spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and South America but now lives in Galway with his wife and daughter. He is one of Ireland’s leading crime writers and is the author the highly acclaimed Jack Taylor series of novels, set in Galway, the first of which was The Guards (2001). A film version of Ken’s novel, London Boulevard, written and direction by Oscar winner William Monahan (screenwriter of The Departed) and starring Colin Farrel and Keira Knightley will be released later this year. Ken has been a finalist for the Edgar, Barry, and Macavity Awards, and the Private Eye Writers of America presented him with the Shamus Award for the Best Novel of 2003 for The Guards.

There will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing generous financial support of Galway City Council and The Arts Council